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STAYING COMMITTED. The Dotterers brought some of the first no-till planters to the area through their Allis Chalmers dealership. This Deutz-Allis 385 wasn't the first, but it was one of Paul's favorites. Equipment may change, but the family remains committed to no-till. Dotterer Family

50 Years of No-Till — and Still Going Strong

Farmer & equipment dealer Paul Dotterer has helped spread no-till success throughout his farming community.

No-till got off to a rocky start in our region of central Pennsylvania. We all had rocks in our fields and were tired of digging them up with tillage and picking them. No-till seemed like a tidy solution if it would work.

Our family farm has three generations of no-tillers sharing their experiences. Paul (Pap) Dotterer (98) started our farm together with his wife Jean in 1951.They used a Farm Credit loan plus $600 of their savings to buy 15 dairy cows and 150 acres.

They had six children, of whom John and Larry stayed to help work the growing farm and dairy. Today their children, Candice White, Amanda Condo, Lori Butler and Douglas Dotterer, help manage the operation, along with Kevin Whitehill.

Check The Specs...

NAME: Dotterer Family

LOCATION: Mill Hall, Pa.

ACRES: 3,100

YEARS NO-TILLING: 51

CROPS: Grain corn, silage corn, wheat, soybeans, triticale

PRIMARY SOIL TYPE: Hagerstown

ANNUAL PRECIPITATION: 40 inches

LIVESTOCK: Dairy

Not long after purchasing the farm, Paul opened an Allis-Chalmers dealership. Allis-Chalmers produced one of, if not the first commercial no-till planters in 1966.

Paul: They were a pioneer in the industry, one of the prime originators of no-till planters. Their planters were built to no-till in rocky ground, and that’s what they did. They gave us a lot of support.

John: I remember there being representatives from Allis-Chalmers at the farm helping Dad figure everything else and answering questions. Dad would have meetings at the farm and right from the beginning there would…

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Martha mintz new

Martha Mintz

Since 2011, Martha has authored the highly popular “What I’ve Learned About No-Till” series that has appeared in every issue of No-Till Farmer since August of 2002.


Growing up on a cattle ranch in southeastern Montana, Martha is a talented ag writer and photographer who lives with her family in Billings, Montana.

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